Minnesota Motorcycle Accident Common Injuries and Claims
Our attorneys have 25 years’ experience successfully handling hundreds of personal injury cases throughout Minnesota. We have represented many people injured in a motorcycle accident, including passengers and motorcycles hit by a car. The motorcycle accident injury our best attorneys see most frequently is severe road rash scars. However, there are also many cases involving broken bones, brain injuries, and other types of serious injury from a motorcycle crash.
Injury Patterns in Minnesota Crashes
Our personal injury lawyers in MN see motorcycle bikers with many types of injuries from being hit by another vehicle. Injuries where a person on a motorcycle is hit by a car or truck usually include broken or crushed bones. Many times, the motorcycle driver or passenger is injured in the accident by contact with the ground after being thrown from the bike. Frequently, this is because the motorcycle driver is cut off by a car or truck, causing the bike driver to lay down the bike while at high speed.
Our motorcycle injury attorneys almost always see severe road rash burns from motorcycle accidents. Unfortunately, our top motorcycle accident attorneys in Minnesota too often see head injuries. Wearing a helmet definitely offers some protection in motorcycle accidents. However, even a helmet is not always enough.
Data from the Hurt Report
The Hurt Report stated that the likelihood of injury is extremely high in these motorcycle accidents. 98% of the multiple vehicle collisions and 96% of the single vehicle accidents resulted in some kind of injury to the motorcycle rider. Further, 45% resulted in more than a minor injury. Injuries most often include:
- Collision with less forgiving protective barriers or roadside ‘furniture’ (lampposts, signs, fences, etc.).
- Concussion and brain damage, as the head violently contacts other vehicles or objects. Riders wearing an approved helmet reduce the risk of death by 37 percent.
- Breakage of joints (elbows, shoulders, hips, knees and wrists), fingers, spine and neck, for the same reason. The most common breakages are the shoulder and the pelvis.
- Soft tissue (skin and muscle) damage (road rash) as the body slides across the surface.
- Biker’s arm — nerve damage in the upper arm during the fall, causing permanent paralysis of arm movement.
- Facial disfigurement. In the absence of a full-face helmet, the unprotected face slides across the ground or smashes into an object. Thirty-five percent of all crashes show major impact on the chin-bar area.
Motorcycle Safety Demographics
Today, more people are riding motorcycles than ever before. Motorcycle riders represent almost every demographic group in the country. Riders now tend to be more affluent than 30 years ago.
The average age of riders has increased, and more women are riding than ever before. The profile of who crashes and who dies has changed too:
Age: Young people are not the only ones dying in motorcycle crashes. Recently, more than half the people killed in motorcycle crashes were 40 or older, up from 25%.
Sex: While only 10% of riders killed in motorcycle crashes are women, almost all passengers (89%) killed in motorcycle crashes were women.
Helmets: Forty-one percent of motorcycle operators and 50% of motorcycle passengers who died were not wearing a helmet.
Location: More people are killed in motorcycle crashes on rural roads now than 20 years ago. Roughly half of all crashes take place on rural roads.
Alcohol: When people drink and ride, they are at much greater risk of crashing and dying. Twenty-eight percent of motorcycle riders who died had a blood alcohol concentration that was at or above the legal limit of .08 g/dL.
Motorcycle Type: The majority of people who die in crashes are riding sport motorcycles with mid-size engines designed to maximize speed and agility.
Work With Our Experienced Motorcycle Injury Attorneys
Our attorneys represent people injured in a motorcycle accident. We have 25 years’ experience successfully handling hundreds of personal injury cases throughout Minnesota. Our cases include when a motorcycle is hit by a car or a passenger is hurt because the driver lost control. Our motorcycle lawyers handle medical bills, lost wages, and other compensation.
If you were injured in a motorcycle accident in MN, there are many complicated insurance issues. This is why you should talk to an experienced motorcycle accident injury attorney soon after the accident. We will answer your questions and deal with the insurance issues. We also handle the investigation, including getting accident reports, video recordings and interviewing witnesses.